Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 4
The Guatemala story contrasts the “handsome… so much potential” man with the quiet, poor, consistently present man who chose church and family over better-paying work; how does that story expose what your eyes naturally value, and what would it look like to deliberately train your judgment to match “the vantage point that God has”?
Another way to ask: What does the Guatemala story show about what you naturally admire in people? How could you train yourself to judge people the way God does?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The story exposes a natural bias toward outward impressiveness—appearance, charisma, perceived “potential”—while overlooking quiet faithfulness. Training judgment to match God’s vantage point would mean learning people’s actual lives and valuing steady devotion, family commitment, and consistent church participation over surface qualities.
- The visitor fixated on the tall man and kept saying, “That guy has so much potential,” despite not speaking Spanish or knowing his life.
- The speaker notes, “This visitor was judging by the outward appearance. I knew these two men, and I knew their lives.”
- Outcome reveals reality: the impressive man “had divorced his wife… That’s how unfaithful he was.”
- The quiet man, “Brother Cesar, is still at church… still bringing his children.”
- The faithful man chose church/family over money: he could take “better-paying jobs out of town,” but “valued his family and the church more than money.”